As Long As You Love Me
by cutiexxpie
Summary: The team takes a case in Washington right after they return from California, and Reid meets Harper Greene, a young model who's being targeted by the UNSUB. And she reminds him once again that not everything is as it seems. And this time the story doesn't end with the big kiss and taking down the bad guy, it's how the story starts. Reviews please, but be nice.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter I_

__**September 23, 2010**

"Alright," Jennifer Jarrau started as the team sat down in the briefing room and the pictures assembled on the screen, "This is Susan Kartry, Makenna McMurray and Linnea Parkins, all victims of what the Washington PD believe to be a serial killer. These women were all found in the same alley at the same time of the day over the past two weeks, all with a slit throat, all Caucasian, all brunette and all around the age of 25. The victims all had a vast amount of post mordum wounds; everything from breaking their bones to burning them."

"Overkill is an understatement," Emily Prentiss muttered to herself.

"This man is definitely projecting an unbelievable amount of rage out towards someone," Hotch muttered.

"Do you see the victims' eye colours?" David Rossi pointed out.

"They all have either partial or complete heterochromia iridis," Spencer Reid answered, "That means part of the eye or the entire eye is a different colour than the other."

"The police believe the murders were actually committed in the alley," JJ went on.

"So, the guy waits for someone who looks exactly like these women to walk by and jumps out at them?" Morgan said doubtfully, "We may be looking at a guy who kidnaps them first then brings them to that specific place to finish the job."

"The police chief has noted an attempted murder similar to these ones committed almost 10 years ago on a Harper Greene. She was 16 years old and was attacked same place, same time. A busboy found her and called the police, but the case was never solved," JJ reported.

"And she's still alive?" Penelope Garcia asked.

"They were able to save her, yes," JJ answered.

"You know what this means," Derek Morgan turned to his team knowingly.

"It's not over with him," Hotch said worriedly.

"And he's not going to stop until he's got her," Rossi finished.

* * *

"Agents?" a fit middle-aged man approached the team as they entered the precinct.

"Yes, I'm special agent Jennifer Jarrau, we spoke on the phone," JJ introduced herself, "and these are special agents Derek Morgan, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Dr Spencer Reid and Aaron Hotchner, unit chief."

"I'm Lieutenant Dawson Keeley," the man introduced, "We have everything set up like you asked, come with me. So far we have no leads; this guy doesn't leave anything behind."

"If you don't mind I would like agents Prentiss and Morgan to go back to the crime scene," Hotch asked the man.

"Of course, officers Diego and Leary will take you. They're just on finishing up their break," Keeley informed the team, "And we brought Greene in for the interview, she's in the break room."

"I'll talk to her," Reid volunteered, "I'm not as intimidating as the team; she'll be more comfortable talking to me."

"Good idea," Hotch nodded.

"Right this way," the lieutenant nodded.

"Did you notice Reid looking her up before we got here," Morgan whispered to Prentiss.

"Oh yeah," Prentiss chuckled, "she's 25 and very pretty."

"Harper Greene?" the lieutenant verified as she stood up in response.

"That's me," the young woman nodded with a shy smile. Spencer studied her for a second; she was wearing an aqua, chiffon dress with crossed pleating across the waist and a ruffled hem that ended midway down her thigh with a dainty nude blazer and nude peek-a-boo pumps. Reid guessed she stood at around 5'2" without the heels with long brown hair she had interlocked into a four part, rope braid on her left side reaching just beneath her breast with side bangs swept elegantly across her forehead. She was tanned and seemed physically fit and attractive with breathtaking eyes, one golden brown and the other hazel blue.

"I'm Lieutenant Dawson Keeley," he shook her hand, "this is agent Dr Spencer Reid, he'll be the one interviewing you."

"Hi," Spencer smiled kindly.

"Hi," she greeted and bit her lip. Spencer noted it as her being anxious, but he could not deny that she looked adorable

"Right this way," Spencer touched the small of her back to lead her to a private room for them to talk.

"You said you're name was Harper Greene?" Spencer started as the two sat down in the room.

"Yeah," Harper nodded.

"You're 25, right?" Spencer asked.

"Yup," she sighed then slightly straightened out as a question popped up in her mind, "How old are you?"

"I'm 28," Spencer answered matter-of-factly, "and what do you do?"

"I'm a kindergarten teacher."

"How sweet," Reid smiled awkwardly.

"Thanks," Harper said bashfully and their eyes met for a second before an officer brought in a file for Reid to read. The room was silent as he scanned it over before looking up at her one more time.

"It says here you were 16 years old when you were attacked," he said in surprise.

"The case was never solved," she said, "I had gone out on an early walk around the corner and was attacked in the same alley way as the other girls."

"And you were found at around the same time that morning," Spencer finished.

"Mhmm," she nodded cutely, "After surgery I was fine, my uncle worked day and night to piece it together, but the resources weren't so great. He was a detective here at the time. He couldn't find anyone who would have a motive or any witness to do a sketch."

"And you never saw anything?" Spencer leaned in.

"No, he got me from behind and covered my mouth, but he was shaky, like he was nervous," she told him.

"Have you ever felt like you were being stalked prior to or since the attack?"

"No, I still take precautions, but I've never been followed or sent anything."

"Interesting, could you wait here for a second, Harper?" Spencer stood up.

"Of course," she smiled a dazzling smile and Reid nodded awkwardly.

"New girlfriend?" Morgan teased as the youngest team member entered the common area again, but Reid ignored him and went straight to the news.

"She's definitely his first victim. Her case file is almost identical to the other three victims. She has complete heterochromia and she's the same age as the other victims," Spencer reported, "The only thing is she told me that he was shaky and he couldn't get the blade deep enough. He eventually left her and a busboy found her and called an ambulance."

"So, he chickened out?" Prentiss summarized, "In other cases the UNSUB would just panic and stab the victim until she bled out."

"So, our UNSUB has a specific execution style," Rossi answered, "He must of fantasized about the kill before actually attempting it. But then, the real thing overwhelmed him with anxiety or emotion when he actually tried to attack her. And his victims being almost identical to his first shows there's a personal connection between them in his mind."

"But the overkill still doesn't fit," Hotch said thoughtfully.

"Stalkers commonly show immediate remorse for the objects of their affection," Reid said, "this guy just keeps hurting them, like he can't help it."

"This doesn't make any sense," Morgan stated, "Why didn't he just go straight to the girl, why all this?"

"He's probably preparing himself for her," Prentiss offered, "He doesn't want to freeze up again."

"Or trying to scare her," JJ said.

"Someone this calculated wouldn't easily let his emotions take over, he must've been ashamed of his failure to finish the job," Rossi said.

"This kind of guy has to be a stalker," Morgan deduced.

"But when I asked her, she was positive she wasn't being stalked," Reid added, " I think it would be a good idea for me to stick by her for a few days. I can probably find signs as to who he is through Harper's memory." The room fell silent as the team pondered the almost too eager request

"Something's off with this guy," Hotch broke the silence, "Until we figure it out, I want you, Reid, to stay with Harper. Play her boyfriend, best friend, anything, use your real name and job when asked. If he feels we're cutting him off from her he might lash out towards us."

"Or, at least me," Reid added solemnly.

"Right, bring her in we'll have to explain what's going on," Hotch ordered.

"We have officers specially trained for these situations," Keeley started, "I'm sure we can find someone more suited—," but the man was cut off by Rossi.

"Dr Reid is one our most gifted members," the man defended his friend, "He can protect this girl better than any other officer I know."

"Are you saying my officers aren't good enough?" Keeley accused.

"No, I'm not Lieutenant," Rossi explained, "I'm saying Reid should not be underestimated."

"Reid, you can bring her in now," Hotch nodded to Reid as an indirect finish to Rossi and Keeley's confrontation.

"Alright," Spencer nodded and brought Harper back to the briefing room.

"Hello, I'm special agent Aaron Hotchner and these are special agents Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, David Rossi, Jennifer Jarrau and you know Dr Reid," Hotch introduced hurriedly, "Reid will be going undercover with you. Tell your friends and whoever ask that he's your boyfriend or best friend, whatever your comfortable with, take him everywhere; we suspect that since your attacker is no longer dormant you're more at risk than ever. Be vague when texting or calling someone when it concerns your whereabouts and, if you can, avoid the area around that alley."

"Okay, I can do that," she nodded thoughtfully.

"Go with agents Rossi and Jarrau and tell them your day to day schedule, be as specific as you can," Hotch ordered politely as she sat at the desk with the two agents.

"Reid, don't think I forgot about what happened with Lila," Hotch began, but was interrupted by the boy himself.

"All due respect, but that was a highly threatening situation," Reid explained hurriedly, "Emotions were running high with Lila. This is different; Harper has a realistic grasp on what's going on. There is no immediate threat to her and she's a pretty optimistic girl who doesn't let her emotions get the best of her. People like that handle themselves exceptionally well in stressed situations. So, any feelings that may arise will be completely natural," Reid nodded reassuringly, "Uh excuse me," stammered as he went back to Harper.

"He likes her," Rossi stated as Reid approached Harper.

"I'm wondering if I should be worried," Hotch thought aloud.

"We're his team mates, Hotch, not his parents," Rossi patted his colleague and friend's back.

"So, you're my boyfriend," Harper stated as Reid approached her.

"Only if you want," he blurted sheepishly, "It's really the only way my sudden involvement in your life would be justified with your friends and family. I'll be accompanying you everywhere to a point. The places I'm not at least one of our team members or officers will be."

"All this work for one person?" she asked in surprise.

"Cutting you off from him will cause him to panic," Reid explained, "To him; it'll become personal between him and me with the FBI. He'll feel like we, or at least I, am getting in the way and turn his rage to me and away from potential victims."

"How heroic," she commented with a smile.

"It's just part of the job..." Reid tried to play it off with a slow nod, but had a hard time hiding his smirk, "So, let's go back to your apartment. Is it possible for you to lay low tonight?"

"I was gonna' go out for dinner with some friends, but I can cancel," Harper said as she took out her phone and started texting furiously.

"Jeez, what are you telling them?" Reid chuckled.

"That I forgot about plans I made with the cutest guy from Quantico," she giggled as she walked over to a beckoning JJ.

"Cutest guy?" he repeated bashfully as Morgan came up behind him.

"Please don't tell me this is gonna' be like last time," he teased.

"She isn't Lila," Reid reminded his friend.

"I know," Morgan nodded, "She's actually sweet and humble."


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter II_

"Are you sure you're comfortable with this?" Reid rambled as he entered Harper's apartment with his suitcase and shoulder bag, "The FBI can always arrange for me to stay in a different room in your building."

"It's fine, really," she assured him as she set her keys in the bowl by the door, "This apartment was actually set up for two. There's two sinks in the bathroom and lots of room."

"Wow!" Reid exclaimed as he scanned the room. It was open with high ceilings in the dining and living room. At the right of the entrance was marble top kitchen with a matching island and three tall stools lined up by it. After the kitchen was a mahogany slightly ornate dining table with matching chairs that seated six and long windows on the far wall with a French door entrance to the deck. To the left of the dining room was the living room with a large, maroon, leather sectional couch and flat screen TV and behind that was bare hardwood floor. And to his immediate left, was a spiral staircase leading to a balcony, of sorts, that over looked the dining room and living room and most likely held her bed and bathroom.

"Thanks," she laughed as he bounded up the staircase, "the realtor said I lucked out on this one. I got it for a steal because it was a newly built apartment complex that used to be a warehouse. The developer actually had a heart and decided to preserve the natural stone walls the best he could."

"It's a great place," Reid complimented as he scanned the second half. Immediately to his left was the bathroom with two sinks like she said. A single size, off-white sleigh bed with floral, ornate detailing and a white with embroidered flowers at the corners duvet with muted gold sheets with a matching bedside table were pushed up against the wall of the bathroom and the glass panels that acted as a railing across the length of the floor. At the foot of the bed was worn trunk Reid assumed was most likely empty and for visitors to use. At the opposite corner facing the glass paneling was a double size Victorian style with floral carvings and details bed with an off-white finish with the same duvet and sheets as the single bed. The bed looked it was taken straight from a princess' room and a matching bedside table to the left of it. At the corner across from both beds was an Armoire matching the bed and further to the left of the bed was a matching dresser with two soft, purple chairs at each side and a coffee table in the middle, "Definitely a girly girl," he smirked as he descended the stairs.

"So, I wasn't set up for dinner tonight," she explained, "Do you mind if I order in?"

"No, not at all," he assured her.

"Is Indian food alright?" she asked, "I know not a lot of people don't like it, but–,"

"I love Indian food," Reid said matter-of-factly.

"Great," she beamed and called the restaurant. After placing her order she turned to Reid once again, "So, let's get you set up. Come with me and bring your suitcase," she climbed up the spiral stairs with him close behind carrying his bags, "So, this can be your bed," she patted the single size bed, "There's storage underneath that you can use and the trunk and nightstand," she motioned to the furniture.

"That'll be more than enough," he commented.

"You sure you won't feel _emasculated, _or something?" she asked with an underlying teasing tone.

"If you haven't noticed already, I'm not a typical guy," Reid smirked.

"I know," she smiled, "doesn't mean you're any less of a man," she reminded him with a touch of humour due to the cliché, "But I'm gonna take a shower real quick. If the food comes, my wallet's in my purse."

"Alright, but I still need to go through security measures with you," he reminded her

"Right," she smiled as she backed into the bathroom and closed the door.

"What a girl," he muttered to himself as he heard music being played through the wall of the bathroom and guessed it was from the radio he noticed in there earlier. He stretched out on the bed and revised the details of the case knowing that his role would be to profile the victims as he pulled out his labtop. He opened it to see a request for a video conference from Derek Morgan. Reid accepted and the request and Morgan's face appeared on his screen.

"Hey, kid," Morgan greeted, "The whole team's here, we're gonna' need what you got on Harper so far. We believe this is your classic stalker. So—,"

"Understanding her is understanding the UNSUB," Reid finished, "So far, my profile on her is limited."

"How so?" Morgan questioned politely, "You usually got this thing down within the first half hour. What's goin' on, kid, losing your touch?"

"You wish," Reid smirked, "The problem is that she kept the subject on or around me the whole drive down and I was driving so I couldn't watch her behavior."

"What does that tell us, she's private?" Morgan concluded.

"It would, but back when we were at the precinct, she was open, she didn't stutter, she didn't even distance herself from me or act defensive in any way," Reid listed off he made the connection in his head, "She's not private she's modest, she doesn't want to come across as selfish. So, she keeps the conversation around anything, but her."

"That would be something she was taught at a young age, it may even been something she taught herself," Hotch's voice carried over the receiver.

"She's also neat, but not to a clinical point she probably spends most of her time not at home," Reid stated, "And her apartment is very open, there isn't one room that cut's off from each other. The kitchen, dining room and living room are all together, even the deck, which has a hot tub," Reid smiled smugly, "is barely cut off. Her bedroom is on the second floor which actually looks over the dining and TV area. The only closed off space is the bathroom."

"She may not like to feel cooped up in one room," Prentiss offered.

"Signs of her subconsciously boycotting places that could remind her of the alley," Rossi stated, "Back to what you said about a dining room, most young people living alone don't bother with that kind of furniture. They stick with what they believe are the necessities."

"Now that you mention it, the dining table seats six along with three chairs at the island in her kitchen and she has a very large sectional sofa," Reid informed the team.

"AKA your bed for the week," Morgan teased.

"Actually no," Reid corrected him, "on the bedroom floor she had a twin bed as well as her own bed."

"She's a social butterfly," Prentiss stated.

"Coincidentally enough, social butterflies may be one of the most effective profilers," Reid informed the team, "They can form close bonds with people within a mere amount of hours of knowing them. It could understand how I gave almost no thought to our conversation in the car before you brought it up."

"What did she talk about?" Hotch questioned.

"She just asked me how I became a doctor at 28 and was genuinely interested in my life story," he reminisced with a smile, "She's actually a very sweet girl."

"I need you to stay focused, Reid," Hotch commanded, "What can you tell me about her personality type."

"So far, all signs point to a 'girly girl'" Reid said with quotation gestures.

"What does her wardrobe say?" Prentiss asked and Reid set the computer down to take a look in her Armoire which skirt to pant ratio was grossly in the skirt's favour.

"She has lots of dresses and skirts," Reid informed them then moved to the dresser, "In here there's workout clothes, umm pyjamas and—oops," he quickly closed the last drawer.

"Underwear," Morgan stated knowingly as Reid smiled bashfully at the screen.

"What does she read, Spencer?" Rossi asked.

"I counted the enitre Harry Potter series, a few novels by Sarah Dessen and autobiographies of Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sandra Dee, Ann Margaret and JWOWW Farley," Reid reported, "Whose JWOWW?"

"She's on that Jersey Shore show," Morgan explained, but Reid still looked confused.

"Sarah Dessen's novels are directed towards young, female adults," JJ said, "They're light, romantic novels."

"It's not exactly unusual for someone her age to own them," Rossi finished, "The Harry Potter books are probably from her childhood. They probably had a big effect on her upbringing.

"Those actresses are all from the late 50s to early 60s," Reid said, "She may identify with them."

"It was a simpler time back then," Rossi informed them, "Those women were all considered strong heroines back in their day. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, If a Man Answers and Made in Paris are all movies starring a strong female lead."

"Audrey's character from Breakfast at Tiffany's was a mischievous house wife who believed she didn't need anybody and was set on marrying for money, but she ended up falling in love with her neighbour. Elizabeth's character from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was a stubborn wife who felt her husband's best friend was bad for him. So, she ruined her husband's friends' life and pushed him to suicide. The whole movie is her making her husband face the truth about his friend, and him confronting his dying father. Sandra's character in If a Man Answers is a good natured young girl with a French mother who coaches her to a perfect marriage through influencing her husband. Ann's character in Made in Paris was an independent private buyer who accidentally plotted two men against each other for her," Reid reported to the team after a moment of silence, "My mother enjoyed older movies," he explained awkwardly.

"So, she identifies as a strong, refined woman," Hotch said.

"And like Reid said, she's a sweet girl," JJ said, "She tried to be as helpful as possible."

"So we're looking for a guy who likes nice people," Morgan finshed, "That's not entirely helpful."

"Reid you're gonna' need to dig deeper," Hotch informed the young man then gave the computer back to Morgan.

"Okay," Reid nodded thoughtfully as he studied . Suddenly, the door of the bathroom opened and the song "Ray Bands" by B.O.B. filled the room as Harper danced out in a white with blue pinstripes, halter top pyjama shirt that ruffled out at the hips with a lace trim and matching, little shorts. Morgan's expression was a mix of laughter and shock. Reid's expression was almost identical to his colleague's as he let Harper dance further before finally saying something, "Harper?"

"Huh?" she turned to see an awkward Dr Reid and then followed the laughter coming from the screen to see a hysterical agent Morgan, "Oh!" she exclaimed as she darted over to her bed to fetch her short, white satin robe, "I forgot you were here," she began to laugh at herself.

"Don't worry about it, kid," Morgan chuckled, "I'll leave you two alone now," and with that he signed off.

"And that, _doctor,_ was me at my very finest," she joked as there was a knock on the door, "Come on," she took his hand and dashed down the stairs slapping Reid with her wet hair in the act.

"Let me answer," he offered as they came up to the door. She looked at him questioningly which prompted him to further explain, "As a precaution."

"Do what you gotta' do," she sighed as she went to get her purse from the kitchen.

"Hi," Reid greeted politely to the delivery boy.

"Hey there," he huffed as he passed the bag to Reid, "Your order?"

"Thanks," Reid placed the bag on the counter, "Charge it on my card," Reid handed his personal credit card to the teenage boy. The kid then swiped the card and handed Reid the receipt to sign.

"Have a nice night, you two," the boy nodded.

"You too," Reid returned and closed the door behind him.

"Let me at least pay you back," Harper said from behind him.

"No, no," Reid insisted, "You're l-letting me stay in your house, this is the least I could do. Conventionally, the guest is supposed to bring a gift for the-"

"Alright," she said slowly after studying him for a second, "I don't think I'm ever gonna' be able to win with you."

"Pardon?" Reid stammered as he unpacked the food.

"I mean, with little things like this," she explained, "You're just gonna' keep talking until I give in. You're like my sister, but what you say actually makes sense."

"Thank you?" he said carefully.

"Yes, that was a compliment," she sighed nicely.

"Thanks," he said although his confusion was still clear on his face. He immediately rushed into a topic he was comfortable and confidant with, "So, about those security tips. It would be a good idea to own a dog."

"The building doesn't allow dogs," Harper informed him.

"I see," Spencer nodded, "Also, try not to hand out your number, maybe take your name out of the phone book entirely."

"They recommend teachers to be unlisted," she told him, a bit surprised by how he did not already assume it.

"But every time you call a 1-800 number, you're put into a list that other companies can buy," Spencer told her.

"How do I stop them from selling it?" she asked.

"You can't, I'll get our tech girl to take you out of the system," Spencer reassured her.

"Is that legal?"

"We, uh, prefer to not to think about it."

"Oh," she cracked a smile.

"Also, try to let at least one person know where you're going and when you're expected to return. So, in the case that you don't return, they would call for help," he added.

"So, you," she answered cutely.

"Basically," he chuckled and paused for a second, "How are you feeling about all this?"

"I don't know," she answered simply as she got two plates and cutlery, "It was such a long time ago I just kinda' moved past it. Now that it's all back, I feel _vulnerable_."

"Don't worry, that's completely normal," Reid placed a reassuring hand on her arm, "You're handling this exceptionally well, too."

"You think?" she asked weekly.

"Absolutely," he smiled reassuringly, "You aren't letting him get to you, and that's what he wants most of all."

"That's good?" she said curiously.

"Very," he nodded and set the opened boxes a top the island.

"Hey Spencer?" she turned to him.

"Yeah," his head snapped up to look at her again.

"Thanks," she smiled and brought the utensils and plates over to the table.

"You're welcome," he smiled proudly and dug into the food.

"So, do you ever wonder what you would be doing if you didn't join the FBI?" she asked as they ate.

"Sometimes," he shrugged, "I know you may not be used to this, but we really need to focus on you right now," he explained hurriedly.

"Okay," she laughed nervously and bit her lip again, "what do you need to know?"

"Can you tell me about all your past jobs?" Reid leaned closer to her.

"My first job was at Baskin Robins when I was 16," she started, "I was there for almost a year, but I quit after the attack. Then I worked at Starbucks until I was 17. Then I worked at Victoria's secret," she said modestly, "When I turned 18 they offered a modeling contract with the company."

"M-Model," Reid stammered now humiliated by how he didn't read her entire file.

"Yeah," she blushed and looked down, "I did sleepwear."

"Sleepwear, like pyjamas?" Reid clarified.

"And lingerie," she told him and giggled at his expression.

"And—and how long did you do that for?" Reid furrowed his brow and tried to stay professional.

"Jeez," she looked up to try to remember, "Like four years, I stopped at 22 when I was hired at the school."

"Why'd you stop?" Reid asked.

"I didn't think a kindergarten teacher should be a Victoria's Secret model," she explained, "I still take some jobs but I stay away from the sexy stuff."

"I see," Reid said and rushed into the next subject, "Did you receive any fan mail while you were working?"

"Fan mail isn't exactly common unless you make it big," she explained, "besides I don't ever get letter mail. I try to handle everything electronically."

"So you've never received anything?" Reid clarified.

"No," she shook her head and Reid looked away for a second to assess the information, "I know I'm not very helpful," she apologized.

"You being you is helpful," he assured her matter-of-factly, but didn't notice her face light up, "Now, can you tell me about what you were doing when you were sixteen?"

"Normal sixteen year old stuff," she shrugged, "I did alright at school, I did ballet, jazz and lyrical dance, I worked weekends at Baskin Robins and any other time I was either sleeping or with my friends."

"What about dating?" Reid asked.

"Oh," she slightly laughed, "I had been talking to some guys, but nothing really worked out," she tried to end the thought there, but Reid nodded for her to go on, "I couldn't really figure out what I wanted; I just didn't think it was fair to lead them on to something that would probably never happen."

"Do you think you may have hurt anyone?" Reid asked.

"I really don't remember," she bit her lip, "I can give you their names, if that would help."

"Well, it's a starting point," he nodded, "Did you have a journal or something?"

"Not exactly," she said, but before she could go on, a tornado of five women burst through Harper's door.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter III_

"Harper you whore!" one with darker blond, curly hair and a freckly face called. She was pretty tall and slightly stick skinny, but still very pretty, "you cancelled!"

"Remember that little dance you saw?" Harper whispered to Reid as the girls argued about the one girl's outburst.

"Yeah," he said as he reminisced with a crooked smile.

"You're about to see what gave birth to that," she took a deep breath and turned to her friends with a smile, "What the hell?!" she demanded with a big grin.

"It wasn't the same without you," a petit girl with long, black hair and big eyes whined.

"So, we took the party here," a short haired, light blond, more practical looking girl concluded cutely.

"AKA you're the only one with a hot tub," a girl with collar bone length straight brown hair and an athletic build clarified jokingly.

"Thanks to that hot ass!" the petite girl exclaimed and slapped Harper's butt.

"Oohh, is this the cutie from Quantico?" a tall, brown haired girl with thin pink lips approached Reid mischievously.

"Hey, hey, hey," Harper rushed over to Reid, "down Justine, he's mine."

"Anyway," the athletic girl said, "to the hot tub!" And with that, all the girls cheered as they stripped down on their way to the hot tub on the deck.

"And those were my best friends," she declared, "The girl with freckles is Trisha, the petit one is Tiffany, the blond one is Lily, the athletic one is Rebecca and that was Justine who just tried to seduce you."

"I did not!" Justine called.

"I know what I saw," Harper countered with a laugh as the girls removed the top of the tub and climbed in as Reid and Harper looked on.

"You two have 5 minutes to get your butts in here, or bad things will happen!" Rebecca warned.

"What kind of things?" Reid asked Harper who was pulling him up the stairs to get changed.

"Bad ones," Harper answered, "you brought swim shorts, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think this is a good idea, this is completely unprofessional" Reid argued.

"That's nice," Harper said as she pulled off her shorts, "you change in the bathroom; those girls won't be phased by me naked," Harper rolled her eyes at Reid gaping at her exposed legs and ushered him in, barely giving him a chance to actually receive what he was going to change into. Once he was ready he re-entered the room to catch Harper struggling with the clasp at the back of her bathing suit.

"Need some help?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, could you?" she inquired as he took the straps and hooked them together, "thanks," she turned towards him and smiled gratefully. She was wearing a bandeau top that twisted in the middle, one side coral pink the other black with black booty shorts. Her understated ensemble made him feel better about his navy blue shorts with a white anchor on his left, back pocket. Although her perfectly toned body did make him feel slightly insecure about his skinnier build. Given he had been working out, he was no Derek Morgan.

"No problem," he assured her.

"Shall we?" she offered her hand and he hesitantly accepted and they made their way down the stairs, "wait," she stopped him, "what exactly am I supposed to tell them about you?"

"Everything you know, including the FBI part," Spencer said, then added nervously, "I can explain later, but I don't think we should leave them unsupervised."

"You _are_ good," she praised jokingly as she pulled her hair up in a messy bun of damp hair, "I'm so looking forward to telling them you're a doctor."

"You guys are so cute together," Trisha noted as she passed them on her way in, "and I'm making strawberry margaritas, want some?"

"Sounds yummy," Harper commented, "yes please."

"No, thanks," Reid shook his head.

"Virgin?" Trisha asked casually.

"Ex-excuse me?" Reid stammered awkwardly.

"Without alcohol?" Trisha clarified slowly.

"Oh, no it's fine," Reid nodded curtly and slowly turned to follow Harper out the door. He smiled awkwardly at the girls as he sat next to his alleged girlfriend in the water. Spencer was more than happy to sit quietly and study what kind of girl Harper was. He learnt, from her friends' teasing, that she was indeed one of the popular girls, but was awkward and weird throughout elementary school. She also was able to take teasing exceptionally well, especially some uncalled for comments from Trisha. Some things they said a normal woman would lose her cool about, but she gracefully chuckled and smiled an innocent smile. The two had worked off each other to form the story of how they met. They told the group that they had been involved for almost a month after Harper accidentally bumped into him on the street and Reid was finally able to spit out the words, "Do you want to go out sometime?" Everything was going rather smoothly until clever Tiffany made a rather bold suggestion.

"The suspense is killing me, kiss her!" she demanded of Reid, "I see how you look at her, you want it!"

"Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!" the women chanted as Harper faced Reid, who simply watched her, and pecked him on the lips.

"Harper you pussy!" Justine teased, "Real kiss!"

"They aren't gonna' let up," Harper muttered warily.

"They will, eventually," Reid assured her as they rolled their eyes at the antics of the women.

* * *

By 11 o'clock the women had all returned to their respective houses, leaving Reid and Harper to clean up after them.

"So, back to what you were saying about you having some sort of journal?" Reid prompted the girl as he handed her glasses and dishes to load into the dishwasher.

"Oh right!" she remembered as she loaded her last dish and flicked the dishwasher door closed with her foot. She sped to the bookshelf with Reid behind her, "Alright red is..." she pulled out a red moleskin and opened it to the first page. The page was littered with cut out pictures of a younger Harper with friends and "15 to 16" written in big, glittery gel, "So, every noteworthy thing from since I turned fifteen to the end of when I was sixteen is here. And when I was a teenager my whole world revolved around boys, so, you'll find every boy I've ever encountered."

"You illustrated your life?" Reid said in an amazed tone.

"Yeah," she chuckled and bit her lip, "this was easier than narrating every thought."

"Impressive," he muttered as he flipped through the pages, "you're really good. Do you still draw?"

"Thanks," she smiled at the ground, "Yeah, not as much, but I still try to get every special moment."

"Well, this is pretty fascinating," he summed up as he stared into her captivating eyes: The room fell silent for a few short moments before Reid felt compelled to speak again, "So, I guess you should be heading to bed."

"Good idea," she laughed nervously as she hopped off and up the stairs, "Aren't you coming?" she called from over the railing.

"I'll be up in a bit," he informed her, "I'm just going to write up a preliminary report. It helps the profile if I start early. So, I see where there are holes, and it points me in right direction of the UNSUB."

"Alright, well you have fun," she smiled, "the switch for the chandelier is by the staircase, night Spencer," and made her way to her bed.

"Goodnight, Harper," he bid the young woman goodnight as he opened his laptop on his lap. He began typing everything he knew.

**_Personality type is highly feminine. Is a 'social butterfly' and can effectively make a connection with any stranger. Makes others feel comfortable, and has comfortable accommodation for guests. Is slightly childish, something she's subconsciously made part of her charm. Prefers pastel colors suggests she's passive and sweet. When with friends, she gets more excited. Is not very private and is rather trusting. Bites her lip often when uncomfortable. Makes others feel good and is rather playful. Possible leads on UNSUB include obsessive fans from her past with Victoria's Secret and past relationships or almost relationships. Look for signs of commitment issues and indecisive behaviour that would possibly prompt her constant rejection to potential lovers. Use findings to pinpoint who would take it badly. So, any alpha males, romantics, over protective types and narcissists._**

Reid spent almost half an hour summarizing the girl into just words, because for the first time he could not simply write out and analyse someone. He felt that words were not enough; that the feeling she gave him was indescribable. She affected him somehow, it was nice. She made him feel more confidant and relaxed, which really was perfect for the job he had, but he had no idea how she did it. He then decided to quickly e-mail Garcia. He wrote to her to find what she could on Harper's contract with Victoria's Secret and, if any, mail regarding her in any way. He made to close his computer, but Garcia had already popped up on his screen.

"Alrighty, lover boy," Garcia started, "I already have a bunch on that I was showing the team, here it goes," and much to Reid's discomfort, she pulled up many prints of Harper, "So, turns out your girl here was one in a million. It's nearly impossible for someone to be pulled off the street into model heaven. The company loved her so much they even made exceptions for her height; she was five inches too short. After two years there she was promoted to Angel status with absolutely no training or no agencies before being hired."

"Wha-what's 'angel status'," Reid inquired curiously.

"It basically means you're the face of the brand along with other girls," Garcia answered, "As for fan mail mentioning her, there was nothing threatening I could find, most said wonderful pictures, natural talent, you know stuff like that."

"Okay," Reid said thoughtfully.

"I'm not finished with my search; it's known that company executives take negative comments to stop the girls from reading them and feeling bad about themselves or what they do," Garcia informed then added, "God, she's like Amanda Kerr's twin sister."

"Keep me posted?" Reid verified.

"Will do, my little boy wonder," Garcia confirmed, "Princess Penelope, out!"

* * *

Spencer was abruptly awoken by the most blood curdling scream. He ripped off his covers and raced over to Harper.

"What's wrong!?" he demanded worriedly.

"I saw—I saw—I saw," she stuttered in shock. Her eyes were so wide and full of fear.

"What, Harper, what did you see?" Spencer stroked her hair soothingly.

"He was there, with you," she timidly looked up at him, "He wouldn't let you go; I couldn't do anything he just kept going." Harper's broken story was enough to tell Reid that she was not the victim in the dream.

"Harper, Harper, Harper, look at me," Spencer bobbed his head around, trying to catch her gaze. She looked at him with the most heartbreaking gaze, "Don't worry about me, okay? This is my job, i—it's what I do," her eyes began to water, probably from how overwhelming the situation was, "come here," he pulled her into a hug. And for the first time he did not feel awkward or out of place doing it.

"Your shirt's inside out," she finally stated and burst out in laughter, and Spencer could not help but join her, "I think I'm gonna' get some milk, do you want any?"

"Please," he smiled and followed her down the stairs. He helped her reach the tall glasses on the top shelf as she rolled her eyes at his subtle proud smile, "If it's any consolation, I've been in many hostage situations before and I came out alive," what he told her was technically not a lie since he had been clean for almost a year.

"Alive," she smirked, "that doesn't mean okay," she countered with a raised eyebrow. Reid was momentarily intimidated as her confidence he knew she had seeped through to the surface.

"Um, they—they don't normally see me as a threat. So, I'm able to talk them down before they have the idea to subdue me," he slightly stuttered as he hurriedly tried to form some sort of acceptable answer.

"Why do you do that?" she asked as she came in closer to study him.

"Do what?" he asked timidly.

"That whole self deprecating thing," she clarified, "You talk like you're a skinny little twig."

"Have you seen me," his eyebrows raised as if she were joking.

"Yeah, I have," she argued matter-of-factly, and he remembered the hot tub, "You're lean, Spence, not a twig."

"Yeah," he snorted, "it's easy for you to talk people up, you're, you're, you're, you're perfect!"

"Perfect, hey?" her voice softened and she turned to look out her huge windows and hugged herself, "If I ask you a question, would you answer honestly?"

"Of course," he said softly, beginning to regret his sudden snap.

"What kind of person am I?" she asked.

"What?" he walked up and stood beside her.

"Just how is it fair that you, some random guy I met like 12 hours ago, know more about me than I ever did!? I'm so blind here," she added softly and looked down at her hands as if she were ashamed.

"Well, Harper, you're a social butterfly," Reid began to explain although saying he was out of his element was an understatement, "You read people and make close bonds like its second nature for you. You have a healthy amount of confidence and humility something you were taught and accepted at a young age. You're fascinated with heroines from the 50s and 60s because you identify with a simpler time, where a woman had her responsibilities and a man had his. And anything more complicated than it needs to be annoys you because it's probably just average people trying to seem smart. Although you want things to be fair so you often contradict yourself. But the most important thing about you is that you make everyone around you feel happy and comfortable. Saying you have a friendly disposition is an understatement. And it's this side of you that's made so many people fall in love with you, like your friends, earlier tonight, and men. But you aren't interested in those guys, because you've always needed someone who understands you, better than you do yourself. You need someone who doesn't control you, because you aren't done growing and you need someone who will help you figure out who you are."

"I do?" a big smile stretched ear to ear.

"Yeah," he assured her.

"And my faults?" she asked politely.

"Your faults," Spencer paused thoughtfully and Harper was slightly taken aback by how willing he was to asses them, but amused at the same time, "You don't admit that you're beautiful," the statement was so bold that her jaw dropped, "And I'm guessing that you find people, especially women, irritated by you for no apparent reason. You're confidence suggests that you are aware of your looks, but you seem to like to cover yourself up and show off at the same time. And earlier in the hot tub you were criticizing some of your attributes that in reality are... nice. And you're a little indecisive."

"So, how do I fix that?" Harper asked, not being offended at all by Reid's comments.

"Don't stress too much about it," Spencer advised her, "you're charisma would generally have people forgiving you within minutes."

"Thanks," she bit her lip and peeked up at him, "You're a really great guy, is it weird that I feel closer to you than my best friends right now."

"No, not at all," Reid said with a proud smile.

"And that thing you said about men in my life..." he sentence trailed of letting him infer.

"No, no, no," he cautioned, "I know what you're thinking."

"Spencer," she said his name in the most delicious way that tempted him to grab her right then, something he had never been tempted to do with anyone.

"Have I ever told you about transference?" he started awkwardly.

"I had a psychiatrist, I know transference," she stated as she popped up on her tip-toes to be at his level although she still fell an inch or two short.

"Li—Harper please," he half-heartedly pleaded.

"You said I'm so good at reading people," she stated, "look me in the eye right now and tell me you don't feel anything for me."

"I don't have any feelings for you," he recited with a slight air of annoyance like a child being forced to apologize for something he was not sorry for.

"You would think an FBI agent would hide his feelings better," she smirked.

"Let's go to bed, Harper, you're over tired, this isn't you," he insisted and ushered her to the spiral stairs.

"Cause you know me better than I know myself," she rolled her eyes and went with him anyway, taking the rejection rather well.

"Staying up late was probably a much stressed rule in your house, the longer you're awake when you should be asleep, the bolder you feel," he told her.

"Snaps for Spencer," she smiled, "but I'm sorry," she said as he turned around to face her at the foot of her bed, "I know this job has to be _excruciatingly _hard sometimes. And you probably have had to give up so much of yourself to do it," she sympathised, "And I'm just making it harder."

"No, no you're not," he insisted and at that moment all he wanted to do was grab her and kiss her. That was what he did. He grabbed her face and pulled her to him; a pure animalistic act. She enthusiastically responded, leaning the entirety of her 110 lbs on him, enough to make him loose balance and fall onto the bed with her on top, straddling his hips

She sat up straight and traced her fingers under her shirt, "Stop me whenever."

"I don't think stopping you is going to be the problem," Reid stated as he trapped her in another kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter IV_

The gentle sounds of a steel string guitar quietly filled the room. Spencer was peacefully awoken by Rihanna's soothing voice signing _PS I'm still not over you_. He blinked a few times as his eyes came into focus. In front of him lay Harper Greene in a peaceful reverie. Her adorable features looked incredibly serene and innocent; it reminded Spencer of a small child. Her full lips were slightly parted and her lightly freckled cheeks were pink and plump. And for a moment the young genius could not believe he was sharing a bed with someone like her. He then saw her nose wiggle and her eyes squeeze shut as she made a high pitched whine. The sound was so cute that Spencer's lips parted to make an "aww" noise.

"Good morning," he chuckled as she stretched out, eyes still closed.

"Morning," she yawned and curled up in a ball, trying to savor her last moments of sleep, "how was your sleep."

"It was pretty good," Reid smiled dorkishly.

"Mine, too," she sighed and her eyes fluttered open and she pushed down the blanket slightly.

"Um..," he muttered as he eyed a dark bruise just below the inner right of her collar bone.

"Oopsies," she giggled as she caught a glimpse in the mirror on her bedside table.

"You can hide that, right?" Spencer asked nervously/

"I can't hide it under a collar like you," she reminded him sleepily.

"I have an idea," Spencer scrambled out of bed.

* * *

"I love this shirt," Harper raved. Spencer had lent her his pinkish purple button up. She left the top few buttons undone and added a thin brown braided belt around her waist. For bottoms she sported a whimsical pair of cream lace shorts that barely peak-a-booed under the long shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a ballerina bun. Yet she had such thick hair, it lifted from the roots and gave the look great volume. Reid, on the other hand, wore a white button down with an unbuttoned, navy cardigan which had white detailing and buttons and a dark, plaid tie. His bottoms were dark slacks which had almost undetectable, white pinstripe detailing. And his recently cut short hair was in disarray.

"I like what you did with it," Reid pressed his lips together as he sipped the chai tea she had talked him into drinking and analysed his situation. He knew that, once he called, Reid would have to tell Hotch about his night. All he was doing now was weighing his options over which bureau to transfer to, "So, about last night," he started awkwardly.

"I know, you crossed the professional boundaries and we can't do it again," Harper finished for him.

"No," he laughed nervously, "that's not what I was going to say. I was going to ask you what it all means."

"I don't think that's my decision," she bit her lip and looked at him, "There's no need to rush anything," her voice was calming and reassuring, but when she glanced at the elegant, thin watch on her wrist her voice changed to rushed, "Unless you have half an hour until the bell. I've gotta rush, can you meet me at the school?" But without waiting for an answer she grabbed her mustard briefcase, kicked on her beige suede wedges and rushed out the door.

"Wait, Harper!" Reid ran after her, but the doors in the elevator were shut and she was gone, "Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed and called Derek.

"Morgan," the ex-cop answered.

"Harper just took off, she was late for work and didn't listen to me," Reid explained.

"Here it says she walks to the school which is two blocks away. Take the truck and you should catch up in time."

"On it," Reid made to hang up.

"Wait," Morgan stopped him, "I should brief you on what we've narrowed down about the killer."

"I'm listening," Reid prompted as he took his bag and locked the door after him with the key he guessed she left under the mat.

"So, we know we're not looking at a fan of hers," Morgan stated and Reid nodded along, "This is a guy from her past. We're guessing, from the amount of overkill, she offended him or hurt him in some way."

"She told me herself that back in her high school years, she was just as interested in boys as any other girl, but she never sought out relationships. She said that at the time she was rather indecisive and didn't carry through with any almost-relationships and eventually turned almost every guy down."

"So, someone who took the rejection pretty hard then," Morgan stated.

"She gave me a moleskin to go through," Reid told him as he excited the elevator, "It's the most intriguing thing, she illustrated her entire life instead of document it in a diary."

"How far back does it go?"

"From her fifteenth birthday to her last day at sixteen."

"Okay, good," Morgan said, "if we have to we might have to go even further back."

"I'll tell you what I find, I'm guessing he's in here somewhere," Reid said as he got into his truck, "If I can make an artistic profile for her I can see which ones would stand out to match the profile."

"Great," Morgan approved, "I'll tell Hotch."

"Hey, Derek?" Reid began a new conversation.

"What is it Spence?"

"Something...happened last night," Spencer stuttered.

"What happened, Reid?" Morgan demanded, but at that moment Spencer spotted Harper on the sidewalk.

"Gotta go, I've got her," Reid said as he pulled over and rolled down the passenger window.

"Reid, wait!" Morgan exclaimed, but his friend had already ended the call.

"Harper," Reid called as the Victoria's Secret model turned and approached the car, "You can't just take off without me."

"Oh, I'm sorry," apologized as she climbed into the big black Suburban, "I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine," he smiled at her and his gaze lingered.

"What?" she asked after a moment of his steady gaze.

"Nothing," Reid shook his head and merged into traffic. The two drove in comfortable silence for the rest of the route.

"Just park in the teacher's parking lot," Harper advised, "The turn's right here." Spencer did as she suggested. Once he had parked they climbed out of the truck and headed for the school.

"And you have a solid 27 minutes before the bell," Spencer assured her as he opened the glass doors for her. He stopped and studied the walls for a moment. There was a bulletin board filled with an entire classes little projects. Reid knew by reading only a few passages that they were stories of past bullies.

"It's bullying awareness week in our school," Harper explained, "The principal thought it would be a good idea to make it early in the year so that we could set the kids off on the right foot."

"You don't agree?" Reid guessed considering the way she phrased it.

"Well I think the kids should actually try to get to know each other first," she shrugged, "but this works out fine, so, I have no complaints," she smiled and took his hand, leading him to her classroom.

"Good attitude," Reid commented as he eagerly let her tow him. Her classroom was at the end of the hall, since the kindergarteners were typically secluded from the other classes. There was about two dozen small cubbies with decorated nametags on each one. The classroom was amazing. It was colourful and had a lot of the children's artwork already posted on the walls. There were five round tables situated in front of the white board. And on the other side of the room, there was a carpeted floor with Calendars, maps, nursery rhyme lyrics and other things posted on the wall in front of it, "There's lots of artwork," Reid noted.

"I give them optional homework assignments each day like 'try to fit the most colours in a pretty picture' or 'draw a flower with your toes'," the two shared a laugh, "anything the kids bring in, I put up."

"What about for bully week?"

"They're bringing in their final projects today," Harper explained, it made sense since it was Friday, "I told them to make a collage of everything that makes them happy, everything they live for. The point was for them to remember all the good things in life and not single out the one bad thing. It's to show them that they're stronger than their bully, if they have one."

"Why weren't you my kindergarten teacher?" Reid joked as he came within a foot away from her.

"It's not that great of a project," Harper looked down bashfully.

"No, it's amazing," he placed a thumb on her chin and tipped her head up, to look at him. He slowly leaned in for a kiss as they were interrupted by someone knocking on the doorjamb.

"Jackie!" Harper greeted with a nervous smile, "This is Dr... No, not doctor, well he is a doctor. Yeah, this is Spencer Reid."

"Doctor," the woman named Jackie grinned, "medicine?"

"No, PhDs," Spencer informed her.

"Do you need something, Jackie?" Harper asked softly.

"Well, you see, two girls in Mr Lawrance's class are having a bit of a problem and you _are_ the youngest faculty member. I just think it would be best if you talked with them," Jackie explained.

"Yeah, sure," Harper nodded helpfully.

"Thank you, sweetie," Jackie smiled victoriously, "Nice you meet you, _doctor_," and with that she went back into the hall.

"Pay no mind," Harper told Reid, "she's recently divorced."

"Who was that?" Spencer asked.

"The Guidance Counselor," Harper said a tad spitefully.

"Isn't her job to deal with whatever problem those to girls have?" Reid asked.

"It is," Harper confirmed as she took some binders out of her briefcase.

"Then why is she getting you to do it?"

"Cause she doesn't like me," Harper said matter-of-factly.

"Why?"

"She knows about my other job," Harper explained, "She tried to act like she doesn't approve, but I don't think that's it."

"She's jealous of you," Spencer said simply.

"What makes you so certain?"

"How she tried to mimic your body language and what you've told me," Spencer shrugged.

"You're handy to have around," Harper smirked. She proceeded to go to the white board and write down the schedule for the day.

_8:35 bell_

_8:50 carpet time (person of the week's presentation)_

_9:20 math_

_9:50 snack time_

_10:00 Recess_

_10:15 Gym_

_11:00 Spelling Test_

_11:20 Silent Reading_

_11:30 Project Presentations_

_11:55 Special Lesson from Ms Greene_

_12:00 Go home!_

"What's the 'Special Lesson'?" Spencer asked curiously.

"I guess you'll just have to stick around and find out," Harper said coyly, "And you need somewhere to work quietly," she marched over to a door behind her office. She opened it, revealing a small desk with a white board on the wall behind it, "There's an outlet you can plug your laptop into, and the password to the wifi here is 'password'."

"Of course," Reid said knowingly, "Is it alright if I come and go from the class as I please? My team might want to video conference and it should be private."

"Yeah," Harper assured him, "but if you want privacy, you may need to go outside."

"That's fine, too," Reid nodded as a couple little kids began to enter the room with their mothers.

"I knew they would come," Harper muttered.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked in confusion.

"The over-protective mothers," she sighed as she plastered a genuine looking smile on her face and went to face the mothers.

"Who's that?" one of the mothers asked, slightly rudely, and pointed at Spencer.

"This is Dr Spencer Reid," Harper answered politely, "my boyfriend."

"You brang your boyfriend to work," the other mother asked distastefully.

"Mrs Ling, Mrs Hope, how can I help you?" she smiled at the two middle aged women.

"Well we were wondering what you were planning to do to for the bullying week assignment?" Mrs Ling asked.

"I gave them one," Harper answered in confusion.

"That collage?" Mrs Hope asked.

"Well, yeah," Harper nodded.

"How will that get bullies to stop though?" Mrs Ling insisted.

"We-"

"Bullies typically harass students because they themselves feel inadequate, insecure and threatened by the people they are targeting. Trust me, I was a 12 year old child prodigy in a Las Vegas public school," Spencer explained, "having children remember what's great about themselves and their lives will no longer make them feel inadequate thus giving them no reason to want to harm anyone."

"What kind of doctor are you?" Mrs Hope asked bluntly.

"I have PhDs in Mathamatics, Chemistry and Engineering, and I work with the behavioral analysis unit of the FBI," Spencer said matter-of-factly.

"So, if that was your only concerns," Harper placed to hands lightly on their shoulders, "You should be getting to work."

"Right, umm, goodbye, Ms Greene," Mrs Ling stammered, "Mr Reid."

"What did I say?" Spencer questioned.

"Nothing, they're just not used to being wrong," Harper assured him.

"Oh," Reid nodded.

"Hey there Nic," Harper smiled at the small boy who had came in with his mother, "where's Alicia?"

"She went to the bathroom," he answered in the cutest voice Spencer ever heard besides Jack and Henry, "Ms Greene, whose he?"

"Wanna come and meet him first?" Harper offered and he nodded shyly, "come on," she straightened up and led him to Reid.

"Hello, Nic," Reid smiled down at the kid.

"Hi," Nic replied, "Who are you?"

"Well," Spencer crouched down to Nic's level, "my name's Spencer, "I'm a special friend of Ms Greene."

"Does that mean he's your boyfriend?" Nic directed his question to his teacher who simply chuckled.

"Well, aren't you clever," Spencer praised the child who smiled proudly.

"Are you guys in love?" he questioned suddenly.

"We don't know yet," Harper answered softly, "How about you go get everything ready for your presentation?"

"Okay," Nic smiled and ran back to his desk. Soon after, the girl named Alicia came back just as the bell rang and the rest of the students came rushing into the classroom. Harper quickly introduced them to Spencer then redirected them to the carpet as Spencer disappeared into the small office.

Within a half hour Reid received the fateful call from his unit chief.

"Reid," he prompted clenching his fist nervously.

"Reid, we need you and Harper here right now," Hotch demanded, "They've discovered another body with a message. She needs to be off the streets immediately."

"Do we have access to a TOC?" Spencer questioned as he opened the door slightly to peek at Harper teaching math as if it were a story and smiled.

"No, can you find a faculty member who can watch the class?" Hotch asked.

"I'll see what I can do," Reid answered and hung up. He abandoned his work and discretely esited the classroom receiving a questioning glance from Harper. He sped down the hall to the office to find a secretary the principal and the guidance counselor, "My name is Spencer Reid with the FBI. Harper Greene needs to leave with me immediately and we need someone to watch the class."

"Wait a minute," Jackie cracked a knowing smile, "Are you trying to help Harper blow off work."

"Please, we really don't have time for this," Reid dismissed Jackie, "She's potentially in danger and we need to bring her into protective custody."

"Is this about those..?" the secretary questioned fearfully.

"Please, you can get all your questions answered later, here's my card," Spencer thrusted his card at her, "can someone watch her class?"

"I can," Jackie nodded and he smiled greatfully and the two made their way back to Harper's class. Once they arrived, Spencer subtly knocked on the doorjam and a bewildered Harper met them in the hall.

"What's going on?" the demanded.

"Harper we need to get to the precinct, now," Reid explained hurriedly as he went back into the class and packed up all his things.

"Why, what's happened?" she questioned as she followed him and collected her own things. Reid halted directly in front of her.

"Another girl's been discovered," he muttered and her expression changed to sadness as she followed him, thanking Jackie on her way out.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter V_

"Hotch, what's going on?" Reid questioned as Harper sat with an officer.

"Come with me," Hotch led him into the conference room, "We found another body that had been accidentally buried in trash which was why we hadn't found it until now. There was a note shoved down her throat in a glass tube. Here, read it for yourself," Hotch handed Reid the laminated letter.

_"Time's running out as the clock counts down. I want to speak with it. It needs to know how low and dirty it is. It ruins the lives of whoever crosses its path and now it has condemned another. He will suffer at its hand through my own for it must know how true sorrow feels. I demand that it calls me, it must hear what it has done, what it will cause,"_ Reid was slightly angered by the words, but cleared his throat, "'It' as referring to Harper."

"And the condemned man is most likely you," Hotch informed him, "We need her to call him. If we can get the slightest hint as to where he's working from we can ultimately save her life as well as others."

"I know," Reid nodded, "Look at his phrasing in the letter. 'True sorrow', 'condemned another' he's a romantic. You know I was flipping through her moleskin and there was one page that struck me," Reid pulled the little red book out of his bag and leafed through the pages until he found the right one, "look at this," Hotch scanned the page, on the left side was a very close up, black, white and gray drawing of a kiss that basically just captured the lips. On the right side was a darkened couple holding hands and in the process of walking away with their hands intertwined and a 16 year old Harper looking sadly into the distance, "Almost all of the other drawings are coloured some way and the ones that aren't are ominous like this one, but this is the only one resembling heartbreak."

"You know this could be adultery," Hotch offered, "but let's get Harper in here."

"Hey, Harp," Reid signaled for her to join them in the room. She got up and walked over.

"Do you need something?" she asked helpfully.

"We need you to tell us the story behind this," Hotch asked.

"Oh God," she pinched the bridge of her nose, "not one of my finest moments."

"What do you mean?" Reid asked, "You've made yourself to look like the victim."

"Yeah," she scoffed, "at fifteen I thought I could do no wrong. What happened was I was at a party and I ended up hooking up with him, like second base," she pointed to the dark male figure in the picture, "The next day I find out he has a girlfriend," she said dryly, "And I tried for weeks to get him to tell her, but he wouldn't. I eventually let him live with the guilt."

"Why didn't you tell her?" Hotch questioned.

"Because I would ruin everything," Harper explained, "At least if he told her they may have a chance since he was honest with her, but if I did it...Well, that wouldn't have been good for anyone."

"How did the relationship end?" Hotch asked.

"It didn't," Harper reported, the surprise clear in her voice and expression, "Last I heard, they were married with one on the way... Wait, they took a break a year after that happened."

"When did they take a break?" Reid pressed.

"A week before..." her eyes widened and she gasped, "Oh, and he is so capable of this."

"What's his name?" Hotch asked.

"Layton Gordon," she said steadily.

"I'm going to need you to call him," Hotch asked.

"I don't even have his phone number," Harper looked from Hotch to Reid desperately.

"He sent us one," Hotch told her, "can you do this?"

"Yes," she nodded, "anything."

"It'll be a few minutes until we brief you and set everything up," Hotch nodded curtly and exited the room.

"Oh jeez, it's a little cramped in here, don't you think?" she commented to Spencer with a nervous laugh, and the two exited the conference room as well. She was barely two steps out of the door when she was rushed.

"It's your fault!" a hysterical mother screamed in Harper's face, "You're the reason Alessandra was killed!" the woman was ripped away from the paralyzed twenty year old, "You bitch! I wish it were you!" Reid pulled Harper away and she turned in his arms and buried her face in his chest as she sobbed. He awkwardly hugged her and couldn't helped to feel a tinge of paranoia.

"JJ what was that?" he asked his friend who was just as shocked as the others.

"The mother of the latest victim," JJ explained, "I explained that their daughter was a substitute for the true object of his rage. They saw you two walking in and put one and one together," she put a hand on Harper's shoulder, "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Reid insisted after Harper didn't respond, "she isn't mad either;" he motioned to Harper, "I just think she doesn't want people to see her cry." JJ continued to rub her shoulder comfortingly, probably the habit of being a mother.

"I'm okay," Harper pushed herself away from Reid. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face tearstained, "It's so weird cause I never cry," she laughed, "ugh, one sec, I'm just gonna clean up."

"Um, Reid?" JJ muttered as Harper walked away, "Isn't that your shirt?"

"What, no, why would she wear my shirt?" Reid countered.

"Yeah it is," JJ insisted, studying her friend's nervous face, "Are your lips chapped? Reid did something happen at Harper's?"

"No!" Reid's hand went up to his mouth defensively, "Can you just-just-just cool it Jayj," Reid angrily pushed passed her.

"What was all that about?" Rossi questioned as he came up behind JJ.

"I think something went down last night with Reid and the victim," JJ told him, "if you know what I mean," she added with a suggesting gesture, and Rossi nodded knowingly.

"Good for the kid," he added as the two parted ways.

* * *

"So, to recap," Hotch sat with Harper at a police man's desk, the phone sitting between the two, "When he picks up don't say anything right away count to three then greet him by his name. He's going to say some horrible things to you, but you cannot let him get to you just stick to the script and everything will be fine."

"Okay," Harper took a deep breath, "dial the number," Hotch did as she said and let the phone go to speaker.

"You called," a husky voice answered.

"Hi, Layton," Harper said after three seconds.

"Oh," his voice rose in condescending surprise, "You've figured it out quicker than I expected."

"Well that is the alley," she responded nervously.

"That is the alley," he chuckled, "are you scared, Harper?"

"No, I'm not," she stated strongly and Hotch glared at her, so, she added, "should I be?"

"Yeah, why would you be?" he chuckled, "I saw that boyfriend of yours. _Doctor _Spencer Reid, is it? You have no idea what you've got him in into," there was a dark chuckle, "well, let's just say it will be years until they can put him all back together."

"Layton, why are you doing this?" she begged.

"I'm not doing anything," he said almost to calmly, "it's YOU!" his rage finally overloaded and the power in his voice made Harper actually jump back and caught Reid's attention from inside the conference room. Hotch scribbled something on a legal pad for Harper to read as Spencer came up to the desk they were at.

"I know, I did a terrible thing to drive you to this," she read unsurely.

"Don't pretend that you understand me," he said dangerously, "What I've been through. What you did to us! God you're such a slut. You're a dirty whore, you're scum!"

"What do you want from me!" she exclaimed.

"I WANT YOU TO FINALLY DIE!" he screamed, "I keep killing you, and killing you and killing you, but you're still here!" There was silence in the room as Harper stared bewilderedly to Hotch and Reid who locked gaze knowingly.

"Gordon, your time speaking to her is up," Hotch stated.

"I will find you and your mislead boyfriend, you will pay," was Layton's last words before Hotch hung up.

"Here, Harper come with me," Prentiss beckoned as she placed a hand under her forearm to insure she would not loose balance.

"Hotch he's having a brief psychotic disorder," Reid stated.

"Are you certain?"

"Positive, symptoms include hallucinations and delusions which would explain why he blames specifically Harper for the death of his wife and why he was under the illusion that he was killing Harper all those other times. Garcia checked his history, two weeks ago his wife died falling from their fire escape. Neighbors all stated that they heard her accusing him of cheating. That could be the stressor," Reid explained, "Also the disorganization of his methodology would make sense as well, alternating from breaking bones, to stabbing to burning to drowning."

* * *

"How are you?" Emily asked.

"A little shaken up," Harper admitted, "I'm not used to all those things being said to me."

"Well they aren't true he's going through a brief psychotic disorder it's when.."

"It's when one enters a period of psychosis that lasts no longer than a month," Harper finished then added, "The doctors were worried I had some form of it since I wasn't _properly _coping."

"Everyone copes differently," Emily assured her, "this is officer Sinclair, he'll be watching over you here while the team deliberates."

"Alright, thank you so much," Harper beamed. Emily returned the smile as she walked back to the conference room where JJ and Morgan were working, "Am I crazy or is she wearing Reid's shirt."

"That's definitely his," JJ assured her dryly, "he's got chapped lips, too, you know."

"You're joking," Emily gasped.

"Reid and..." Morgan verified.

"She doesn't have a roommate," JJ answered.

"My man!" Morgan snickered, "That's what he was trying to tell me on the phone!"

"Does Hotch know?" Emily finally asked.

"Probably," Morgan stated.

"But that's two for two," Emily reminded them, "Isn't it considered a violation of the victim?"

"I don't know," Morgan admitted, "the line's always been foggy, but I think Hotch is just hanging on the excuse that we can't formally pin anything on Reid without Harper reporting it."

"But why would she be wearing his shirt?" JJ pondered.

"Could be a girlfriend thing," Morgan offered.

"Or for the collar!" Emily burst.

"Duh, the collar!" JJ agreed as if it were obvious.

"What's up with the collar?" Morgan questioned.

"Men's collars are higher, something that comes in very handy for hiding-blemishes," JJ winked.

"You're kidding!" Morgan exclaimed with a cheeky grin

"Reid, Hotch, Rossi!" Emily greeted nervously.

"Garcia," Hotch addressed to the screen, "What did you get on the call?"

"Sir," Garcia popped up, "He was on the move signal failed at 1404 Irving Street, Columbia Heights, Washington."

"Harper's apartment is 1400," Reid stated worriedly.

"Let's head over there, JJ stay with Harper and make sure she gets some rest; she's looking pretty nervous over there," Hotch nodded towards the 25 year old who was anxiously biting her thumbnail.

"Right," JJ nodded as the team rushed past her with Lieutenant Keeley and officers at their flanks.

"God they look so serious," Harper laughed.

"I know, it's a little ridiculous," JJ admitted as the two walked back into the conference room.

"Where are they going?" Harper pondered aloud.

"We found out where Layton was, they're going to make an arrest," JJ responded happily.

"Thank God," Harper sighed, "It's weird I totally forgot about that guy for years and now it's like I'm paying for it."

"I know what you mean," JJ sighed, "it's hard to remember everyone."

"JJ," Garcia popped up on the monitor, "and Amanda."

"No, I'm Harper," she corrected as she stifled a laugh.

"Sure ya' are, tell Orlando I say howdy'," Garcia said.

"What is it Garcia?" JJ softly redirected her friend to the original train of thought.

"Right, well I've figured out how he knows so much about Mandy's life," Garcia stated, "her friend's social networking sites. They're always posting pictures of her and making statuses with her in them."

"That makes total sense," Harper agreed, "I don't have him on Facebook or Twitter, but he went to high school with three of my best friends they've probably added him."

"But that's not all, look at what I found," Garcia typed away at her keyboard and an image of Harper and Reid laughing with each other in the hot tub.

"Ohhhhh," JJ laughed and Harper rolled her eyes with a small cheeky smile.

"And he's tagged 'QT from Quantico,'" Garcia read that made both women burst out laughing.

"He doesn't even live in Quantico," JJ exclaimed between laughs, "he's actually like 12 minutes from your place."

"You're kidding!" Harper's eyes lit up with the new information, "Where exactly?"

"Van Ness?" JJ recalled.

"Wow, good to know," she winked, "Hey, can we maybe go out to the Starbucks? Isn't there one right around the corner?"

"Um," JJ glanced at her phone, knowing that Hotch would have called by then if there was something wrong, "Yeah, sure."

"I will be with you in spirit, my lovelies," Garcia stated and signed off.

"I like her," Harper stated.

"We have yet to find a person who doesn't," JJ joked as they left the station.

* * *

"This is weird," JJ muttered to herself as she read the M.E.'s report as Harper went up to the counter to retrieve their drinks. She scanned the file once again before calling Hotch.

"Hotchner," he prompted.

"The M.E. found traces of hornet venom in each of the girls' bloodstream," JJ informed him.

"JJ there's been a problem," Hotch said, "Lieutenant Keeley is dead, and Reid's gone."

"Do you think..." JJ fought to keep her composure.

"We aren't certain of anything, but it most likely is the UNSUB," Hotch answered.

"Well, we need to tell her," JJ whispered as Harper curiously peered over at her.

"No, JJ you can't; she's emotionally involved with him," JJ was not even close to surprised that Hotch had figured things out for himself, "where are you two right now?" Hotch asked.

"Picking up some coffee," JJ answered.

"Bring her back to the station immediately and do not tell her, JJ," Hotch ordered, "do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," JJ said solemnly.

"He's going to be okay," Hotch assured her, "he won't want to hurt him unless she's there as well."

"Yeah, well let's just hope the profile's right," JJ said with a touch of venom as she hung up.

"Why would you wish that?" Harper questioned as she handed JJ her drink and sat down across from her, "you guys have already caught him."

"Yeah," JJ muttered and quickly got out of her seat, "We need to go," she said hurriedly.

"Is something wrong?" Harper questioned as JJ ushered her out of the store.

"It's nothing," JJ insisted as she slightly sped down the street with Harper rushing after her.

"Wait, JJ, I can't!" JJ spun around when Harper was suddenly cut off mid sentence. Her heart stopped; Harper was gone.

"You son of a bitch!" she hissed as she was roughly shoved into his van and slammed the door shut. She crawled over to a figure under a blanket; she uncovered it to see an unconscious Reid, "Spencer," her eyes fearful as her hands shakily touched his face.

"It's okay," he muttered as his hand came up to squeeze her's, "I'm just thinking. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, JJ was rushing us back to the station, he just jumped out and grabbed me," she explained as he pushed himself up. He was visibly tense, obviously assessing the situation and fearing for the girl's safety, "What the Hell are we in?"

"We're encased in bullet proof glass in his RV, we're tapped in here, but he can't hear us from the driver's seat," Reid informed her calmly.

"Figures," she muttered as she pulled off her wedges and started undoing her shirt.

"What are you doing?" Reid questioned, his quirky behavior coming back.

"We're not gonna' talk ourselves out of here, might as well get ready to fight our way out," she stated as she shrugged off his purple shirt revealing her white camisole. Reid was taken aback by her personality swap; she wasn't the delicate pacifist anymore. She was head strong. He then watched her pull off her delicate lace shorts to end up with charcoal mini shorts.

"Why are you wearing so many layers?" he questioned dorkishly.

"The shorts are see-through," she explained as she gathered the clothes in a pile by the door, "Ugh, these are gonna end up hurting," she groaned as she pulled out the bobby pins from her bun letting her hair fall in waves down her back. He watched her as she shook her head lightly. He felt like an idiot; he had not seen that side of her. She was so refined and faint, but now she was tough and impulsive maybe even difficult.

"Just calm down, you aren't acting like yourself," Reid soothed, guessing that it was just her under pressure.

"I'm gonna' tell you something about me that I don't blame you for not figuring out. I mean it wasn't like you were profiling me this entire time, right?" the trust in her eyes made him feel a sudden tinge of guilt. He never thought that she would think of him profiling her, but she took his lack of response as an indication to keep going, "Well I bottle shit up, all the time. It's kind of unhealthy. I keep everything calm and collected on the surface while underneath is a mess, until highly emotional situations when I break down," she stated matter-of-factly, "The weird thing is I don't even know what I'm actually feeling, I guess that's why I come across as so believable. Although I don't feel overwhelmed," she added thoughtfully.

"But you're just stressed," Reid insisted.

"Yeah, but me when I'm stressed is still me," she argued.

"Actually, stress causes a chemical change in the brain—," Reid stopped mid ramble as the vehicle halted and they heard the driver get out. The two were completely still and silent as they heard him unscrewing a knob.

"Is he gassing up right now?!" Harper exclaimed in disbelief.

"He's suffering from a brief psychological break," Reid explained, "abducting us feels normal to him. So, small things like stopping for gas are just part of routine."

"Yeah, well what are we gonna' do?" Harper asked nervously.

"I think I can talk him out of it," Reid said unsurely, "I'm just gonna need time."

"I can give you time, but you have to know," Harper stated.

"No," he insisted, "He will not touch you; I won't let him touch you." She was about to argue, but he kissed her to end the conversation.

"Fine," she said, but he could tell she wasn't fully convinced, "How are you going to talk to him."

"Well, I have to sympathise with him," he explained, "He needs someone who he thinks understands him. And I'm going to have to say certain things to make him believe me," he added and Harper clued in.

"I see," she nodded as they felt the RV speed away once again.

"Uh oh," Reid muttered.

"Why 'uh oh'?" Harper demanded.

"He's rushing," he said, "talking to him won't be as easy." Harper looked down thoughtfully and they rode in silence, lost in thought and absolutely terrified. For some reason, Reid felt betrayed, after all they spent an entire night full of pillow talk with deep, dark secrets and she never trusted him enough to tell him about how she bottled up her emotions. On the other end, she was feeling the chill in his manner and guessed that they would most likely not be staying in touch after it was all over, if they make it out alive. But she knew, Layton would not kill her before killing Reid and that she could use to her advantage. Layton said himself that he wanted her to watch Spencer suffer something she couldn't do dead. Although she did not tell him, because she knew he would just shoot her down with a long speech about statistics or facts or something.

She really did like that about him, though. He was sweet and funny when he does not mean to be which she thought was adorable. He was also caring, genuine and not ashamed of whom he was. It was very refreshing for her, because her life was filled with fake, pretentious people. And she very much appreciated how he treated her that night.

_"I don't think stopping you is going to be the problem," he said and kissed her once again. He pulled her down on top of him as she ran her fingers through his hair. The atmosphere was heating up fast. Spencer had this burst of confidence and rolled her onto her back with him on top._

_ "Whoa," she giggled at the unexpected move. He pulled away from her for a moment and they simply watched each other. _

_ "Are you okay?" he suddenly asked with genuine concern._

_ "What? Yeah, totally," she insisted._

_ "No," he said as he rolled on his side, "you're not."_

_ "I'm starting to really not like you, Dr Reid," she murmured jokingly as she too rolled to her side._

_ "Then why did you try to kiss me?" he countered coyly._

_ "I wasn't planning on doing anything," she admitted with a grin, "You did everything yourself."_

_ "But you—and the—,"he tripped over his words as his mouth raced to keep up with his brain._

_ "I was just talking," she went on, "you took action," Reid gaped at her in confusion making her laugh, "Don't worry though; I do like you."_

_ "Why me?" he questioned._

_ "I don't know, you're real," she said thoughtfully, "quirky and really cute," she bit her lip, "And, well, I don't know! Why do you like me?"_

_ "You mean besides the fact that you're a lingerie model?" he said sarcastically making her laugh, "You're generous, sweet, kind, funny and a lingerie model," they laughed again, "I'm joking," he assured her._

_ "I know," she smiled and he brushed some falling strands behind her ear, "I still cannot get over you having three doctorates and two BAs. I mean you're just 28, you're three years older than me, but you've completed years of work. How have you managed that?"_

_ "A—Actually I'm 6 years older than you, I have an October birthday, but anyway I have what they call an eidetic memory which means I can remember a large amount of information in detail and I was a—a child prodigy," he informed her, "I started high school at 12 and went on to university when I was 14."_

_ "Wow," she commented, "Do you regret it?"_

_ "Excuse me?" he furrowed his brow in confusion._

_ "Do you regret not having the high school experience?" she explained._

_ "I definitely had the high school experience," he assured her dryly._

_ "Ohh," she sympathised, "What did they do to you?"_

_ "Classic bullying; high school jocks were really unimaginative," he tried to joke, but her persistent gaze pushed him to go on, "They set me up in public school... in Las Vegas," she scrunched her face in sympathy, "Yeah, I could go on forever about what happened, but what it came down to was that they made me feel bad for being me. They harassed me for something that was completely out of my control and no one could help me, or at least no one wanted to, because 'boys will be boys' and all that."_

_ "I never understood why bullying was such a big part of high school," she mused, "but those things shaped you into who you are today, and you're pretty sick. Look at you, fighting the bad guys, protecting helpless girls in distress," she laughed with him_

_ "Were you ever bullied?" he asked although he knew the answer._

_ "Probably," she admitted._

_ "What do you mean by that?" he inquired in confusion._

_ "If I was being bullied I didn't know it," she explained, "You know how high school girls work; they're sweet to your face and mean behind your back. I just didn't care enough to figure out who was saying what about me."_

_ "Statistically speaking, it's almost impossible for a teenage girl to resist the opinions of others. Considering the hormone changes that arise, the need to feel accepted and liked would basically overpower you," Reid explained._

_ "Uhh, I went through puberty early?" she tried to explain although she was confused about the details he knew about a seemingly random subject._

_ "How early?" he asked as he went through the meth in his head._

_ "Umm first bra at 9, first period at 10, first crush at 6," she listed off, "I had my first real kiss at 11, too, first of my class," she added proudly._

_ "Congratulations," he smirked._

_ "When did you have your first kiss?" she asked._

_ "15," he said matter-of-factly, "we both had our first kiss in 1996."_

_ "Ooohh, maybe we kissed each other!" she exclaimed excitedly. They laughed and talked for what seemed like hours. They shared all their firsts from first steps to their first sexual experiences. _

_ "So, don't laugh," she told him as her cheeks became scarlet, "So, I was sixteen, you'll probably see the drawing for it when you're looking through my notebook tomorrow. Anyway, I was sixteen and I was flirting with this guy at some party, but I didn't drink then, so I was actually doing a good job. We eventually ditched the party and went on a 'moonlight stroll'," she said sarcastically, "We thought we were so original camping out on the beach to watch the sunrise. And it was the cheesiest thing; he pulled the not as beautiful as you line," she admitted, "and that was the first of four and my only casual hookup," the room was still for a moment as the two shamefully remember the direction the night was going before Reid sensed her reluctance, "And thank you for keeping it that way," _

_ "Well—I—and you—," Reid paused for a moment at Harper's gaze, "Of course, Harper," she placed her hands on either side of his neck and leaned in to kiss him. He pulled her closer for the last moment of passion before they broke apart again._

_ "I think its bed time," she stated with a smile._

_ "Oh," Reid said with a tinge of sadness as he made to leave the bed._

_ "Stay," she said with an inviting smile as she took his hand. He happily obliged as he watched her close her eyes and minutes after her, her muscle relaxed and her breathing slowed, showing him she was asleep._


End file.
